What happens if you eat grapefruit while taking a statin drug?
Some substances can interact with statins With some statins, drinking grapefruit juice, or eating grapefruit, is a bad idea. Grapefruit juice can cause that statin to stay in your body much longer, and the drug can build up. This can increase the risk of muscle breakdown, liver damage, and even kidney failure.
What fruit should be avoided if an individual is taking a statin medication?
Grapefruit and statins: Eating grapefruit, either the fruit itself or as juice, can slow the body’s ability to metabolize statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, which include Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor.
What medications are bad with grapefruit?
Although antimicrobials are one of the most diverse categories of medications, there are only a few medications with known important grapefruit interactions:
- Erythromycin.
- Rilpivirine and related HIV drugs.
- Primaquine and related antimalarial drugs.
- Albendazole.
Can you eat oranges while taking statins?
Seville oranges, limes, and pomelos also contain this chemical and should be avoided if you’re taking statins.
Can I eat pineapple with statins?
The risk of a drug-nutrient interaction between pineapple juice and statins is minimal to none.
What happens if you eat grapefruit while taking blood pressure medicine?
Grapefruit contains compounds that may interfere with how your body absorbs some drugs, including some blood pressure medicines. It can leave too much or too little of the drug in your bloodstream, which may be dangerous.
Why should you not take grapefruit with medication?
Many drugs are broken down (metabolized) with the help of a vital enzyme called CYP3A4 in the small intestine. Grapefruit juice can block the action of intestinal CYP3A4, so instead of being metabolized, more of the drug enters the blood and stays in the body longer.
What foods should be avoided when taking pravastatin?
Avoid eating foods high in fat or cholesterol, or pravastatin will not be as effective. Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may increase your risk of liver damage. Grapefruit may interact with pravastatin and lead to unwanted side effects.
Can you eat tangerines with statins?
Limit your consumption of grapefruit or switch to “safe” citrus fruits, such as blood oranges, clementines, lemons, limes, mandarins, navel oranges, and tangerines. Bitter oranges, pomelos, tangelos, and Seville oranges contain high levels of furanocoumarin and should also be avoided.
What drugs react with grapefruit?
The most commonly prescribed drugs that interact with grapefruit are cholesterol-lowering atorvastatin and simvastatin (Lipitor, Zocor); quetiapine (Seroquel) for bipolar disorder and nifedipine (Procardia) for angina.
What medications are contraindicated with grapefruit?
Grapefruit might interact with some of these medications including lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin (Zocor), and atorvastatin (Lipitor), But grapefruit juice does not interact with some other medications used for lowering cholesterol including pravastatin (Pravachol), fluvastatin (Lescol), and rosuvastatin (Crestor).
Why is grapefruit bad with medication?
The grapefruit ( Citrus x paradisi) and its juice contain chemicals that interfere with CYP3A4 and keep it from doing its job properly. Depending on the medication, it can either cause your body to take in and retain too much of the drug, leading to a potential overdose, or not enough, rendering your medication useless.
Should you eat grapefruit with statin?
People taking statins should not ingest grapefruit. Those who take medications such as statins should check with their doctors to see if it’s safe to drink grapefruit juice, which can interact with certain drugs.